Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Based on historical events, still relevant today

The Yellow Hats by Kelly Matathia-Covo

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The picture book The Yellow Hats by Kelly Matathia-Covo (due mid August 2026; read via an online reader copy) is about the Holocaust. It does not come out and say that but due to the Yellow Hats (yellow stars) and the scene behind barbed wire, plus a few other pieces, we know this is the case. Based on the author’s family experiences, this is not an original theme, but an original presentation. It is an emotional story and an emotional way of telling things. It […]

And did I mention, I really hated the ending? 

When We Ride by Rex Ogle

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I hate the ending of When We Ride by Rex Ogle. I cannot believe that Rex Ogle is the same Rex Ogle that wrote the graphic novels Four Eyes and Pizza Face. Or Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms or the Doña Quixote series (as Rey Tercoero).  Have I mentioned I hated the ending of Ogle’s book? I understand why it had to be this way, but still, I hated the ending. Anyway, up to that point (so guess a decent track record, at the […]

New place, new community, new home

The Garlic Eaters by Madison Safer

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As a bookseller I have access to books in multiple ways. The easiest way is to have online reader copies. I was granted access to The Garlic Eaters by Madison Safer this way. I was going to wait to read it (as it is due in July 2026, so I had plenty of time to read) but decided why not? I needed something that seemed quick and easy. There is nothing quick or easy about things. You are getting a deep story about displacement from […]

War and a family

Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson

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Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson and also illustrated by Fujimoto-Johnson is currently available, but I read via an online reader copy. The start of the story is set right before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, the narrator’s grandfather is sent to an internment camp with other men. In age appropriate language (at least five and up) the experiences of the grandfather and family back home unfold. As set in Hawaii, seashells will play a role in keeping the […]

Worth the hype!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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This book is a delight.  It is charming, and thought provoking, and overall just lovely.  It takes place in a world not too far off from our own, only there is magic.  The magic may have been hidden away for quite some time, but those who were magical were probably forced to show themselves.  The “people in charge” decided that in order to “include” these magical beings into society, they must be registered.  For what purpose remains unclear.     Mr. Linus Baker, our protagonist, works […]

Black Lives Matter in Norway too

Eg snakkar om det heile tida (I talk about it all the time) by Camara Lundestad Joof

Ikkje ver redd sånne som meg (Don't be afraid of people like me) by Sumeya Jirde Ali

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Eg snakkar om det heile tida (I talk about it all the time) – 5 stars Official book description: I call a friend. Did the man in the bar call me a black b*tch when I didn’t want to give him my number? That time we had arranged to drink beer, but we drank tequila instead? She goes quiet. No. He called you the n-word. Thank you, I say. Thank you for remembering. I talk about it all the time is a witness statement, an […]



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